A Little Friday File Fun

In Coon Rapids, Minnesota, someone at a gas station next to a Burger King called police to report what appeared to be an act of vandalism. Burger King employees were using tire irons and other objects to smash out the windows of the building. When police arrived, the restaurant manager said she had just received a phone call from a man identifying himself as a fire department official who seemed to have a working knowledge of commercial fire safety systems. The caller said he could tell that “gas pressure inside the building was rising,” and warned that the restaurant was in danger of exploding unless the exterior windows were immediately broken to relieve pressure. Firefighters called to the restaurant checked the building but found no traces of leaking gas, and the incident was confirmed to have been a hoax.

In Vienna, Austria, police are acknowledging that they published a photo of U.S. actor and TV producer Peter Marc Jacobson by mistake in their search for a suspected fraudster. Jacobson is best known as the co-creator of the sitcom “The Nanny.” A police spokesman said they circulated Jacobson’s photo after it was provided by a woman who said she was defrauded of 46,000 euros (about $52,000), according to the Associated Press. He said the suspect apparently used a photo of Jacobson in a false identification document he gave the victim and “must look deceptively similar” to him.

In Concord, New Hampshire, the Works Bakery Café offered a discount this past Tuesday to women in its New Hampshire shops in honor of Equal Pay Day. The chain only charged women 79 cents on the dollar for items, while men were charged full price.

In Maryville, Tennessee, a man was detained on the campus of William Blount High School after creating a disturbance. According to the Blount County Sheriff’s Office, the man came into the vocational building around 8:40 a.m., wearing only his underwear and socks, and tried to tear the fire alarm off the wall. According to the local NBC News station, witnesses said the man claimed there were smurfs inside the device. He was taken to Blount Memorial Hospital for a mental evaluation.

MARKET MIRROR

Friday, the Dow closed 72.85 points (0.29%) higher at 24,946.51, the NASDAQ was virtually unchanged at 7,481.99, and the S&P 500 was up 4.68 points (0.17%) at 2,752.01. The Russell 2000 increased 9.43 points (0.60%) to 1,586.05, and the Wilshire 5000 gained 78.92 points (0.28%) to finish at 28,545.18.

The price of the 10-year Treasury note was down 4/32, increasing its yield to 2.844%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond decreased 12/32, bringing its yield up to 3.078%.

WEEK’S WORTH: For the week ending March 16, the Dow fell 1.54%, the NASDAQ decreased 1.04%, and the S&P 500 lost 1.24%. The Russell 2000 was down 0.69%, and the Wilshire 5000 finished 1.09% lower.